Patients pleased with Nenagh Hospital services

THE results of the fourth National Inpatient Experience Survey have found more than four in five patients across UL Hospitals Group described their overall experience as good or very good.

Just under 1,000 patients have provided their feedback and the results from the 2021 survey are already being used to drive improvements in quality across the five participating hospitals.

All five – University Hospital Limerick, Ennis Hospital, Nenagh Hospital, St John’s Hospital and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital – are now encouraging all patients who are discharged from hospital during May 2022 to participate in this year’s National Inpatient Experience Survey.

Within UL Hospitals Group as a whole, 82% of surveyed patients rated their overall experience as good or very good in September 2021, compared to a national average of 83%. In University Hospital Limerick 78% of patients described their overall experience as good or very good, as did 88% of patients in Ennis Hospital; 90% in Nenagh Hospital; 95% in St John’s Hospital and 94% in Croom Orthopaedic Hospital.

The survey also assigns as overall rating of hospital experience, with a national average of 8.2 out of 10 in 2021. In UL Hospitals Group, UHL scored 7.8 out of 10; Nenagh 8.6 out of 10, Ennis 8.7 out of 10, St John’s 8.8 out of 10 and Croom 9.2 out of 10.

Every patient who had spent at least one night in an acute hospital during September 2021 was asked for their feedback through almost 60 detailed questions and UL Hospitals Group achieved an overall response rate of 40%.

Patients are asked for their feedback and observations on each stage of their journey through hospital and the survey is broken down into sections on Admissions, Care on the Ward; Examination, Diagnosis and Treatment; and Discharge/Transfer. To reflect the additional challenges faced by patients in 2021 due to Covid-19, questions were added to this most recent survey on how patients experienced care during the pandemic.

NENAGH HOSPITAL

Cathrina Ryan, Director of Nursing, Nenagh Hospital, said: “We are pleased that the survey results show high levels of patient satisfaction around trust and confidence in our staff; around patient privacy; around staff properly introducing themselves and around pain management. These positive findings reflect specific initiatives undertaken at Nenagh as well as the professionalism and dedication of our staff.

“Listening to the needs of our patients and responding with solutions is fundamental to how we approach patient-centred care at Nenagh Hospital. It is clear from the survey results that there is room for improvement on our discharge planning and on the level of information patients expect around their medications. These areas will be given renewed attention as we continue to develop quality improvement plans and will also be a focus of a new Patient Experience Committee to be established at Nenagh Hospital,” Ms Ryan added.

SURVEY 2022

Niamh Hogan, Patient Advocacy and Liaison Services Manager, UL Hospitals Group, encouraged eligible patients to participate in this year’s survey over the coming weeks.

“Almost 1,000 patients across the group completed the 2021 survey, providing detailed information which we can use to further improve our services. We are also asking patients discharged from our hospitals during May 2022 for their views and observations as we continue this improvement cycle. All eligible patients will have a survey posted to them and they will also have an option to complete the survey online,” Ms Hogan said.

Prof Colette Cowan, CEO, UL Hospitals Group, added: “I thank each of the patients who completed the survey for providing us with such a rich store of information that we can build on to improve the patient experience. In the main, our patients have described, in their own words, excellent care provided by our doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. And they have shared their stories of the professionalism and attentiveness of the support staff who provide their meals and who work tirelessly to keep the care environment safe and clean.

“Each day, our staff show great commitment to the people of the mid-west and it is heartening to see this reflected in the survey results. It is important that we pay attention to those areas where our patients are less satisfied and even dissatisfied with our services.

“A number of quality improvement plans are being put in place to address areas of concern as identified by our patients. The National Inpatient Experience Survey is one of many means through which we take feedback from our patients. Quality improvement is a continuous cycle and I am encouraging all patients discharged from our five participating hospitals this month to complete the survey for 2022.”